Always a meaning

I finished my own personalised sugar skull at last (hurrah!) I'm pleased with it if I'm honest. The flowers, the tear drops, the love hearts and even the crosses (I'm an atheist but I do believe in the faith and hope that every religion carries). The writing, instead of a web that would symbolise death, is actually my tattoo that I have on the side of my right foot.

It says "la mia bella principessa", which any of you Italian folks know, means 'my beautiful princess'. It sounds cheesy, but the meaning is not.

My great nan, who I adored so much, passed away about 18 months ago. I was always close to her, even though she lived in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and I lived in Southampton, England. We spoke on the phone weekly and whenever we would she each other, we would just have a laugh. She was no ordinary great grandmother, she was my crazy Italian great grandmother that I looked up to in so many ways. I was her first great grandchild, and when I was young I have the biggest blue eyes and red curly hair, and she called me her 'beautiful princess'. I still think about her everyday, and no decision is made without thinking of her view and her wacky answer that she would come up with.

Nothing should be made without a meaning behind it, whether be a decision or something creative. Rarely any good pieces of art or otherwise are made without a true meaning.

But back to the skull, I will eventually get round to the colour. But for now, I'm going to spend more time on my pencil and pen techniques, yay!

Meanings continued...

From

http://crueldazeofsummer.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/sugar-skulls-status-in-popular-culture-what-is-their-meaning-and-where-do-they-originate-from/

"Within the Western culture, skulls usually depict the dark, macabre and gruesome death. However sugar skulls’ origin (or calaveras de azucar) springs from Mexico. Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday, celebrated on the 1st and 2nd November in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saint’s Day and All Hollow’s Day. The festivities start at midnight on the 31st October.  Sugar skulls are often used to decorate the gravestones of the deceased. The reason they are called “sugar skulls” is because the authentic sugar skulls were made out of clay molded sugar, decorated with feathers, colored beads, foils and icing. These sugar skulls are very colorful and whimsical, not scary at all. The name of the deceased relative could be written on the skull’s forehead and then put on the altar, accompanied by marigolds (the marigold is perceived as the flower of the dead), candles and maybe even the deceased’s favorite food and beverage in order to encourage and guide him back to earth.

In terms of meaning, the skull symbolizes death but in a positive manner. In Mexico it is believed that death is not the final stage in one’s life but rather a step forward into a higher level of conscience. For the Aztecs skulls were a positive symbol, not only of death but also of rebirth.
Supposedly the symbolism of a sugar skull is rooted in the decoration around the eyes. Flowers are meant to symbolize life, while cob webs symbolize death. Burning candles set inside the eyes are a sign of remembrance. These items can also be used in combination to personalize the main focus of the skull as well.”

From which has some interested answers:

http://tattoos.answers.com/history/an-inside-look-at-the-meanings-behind-sugar-skull-tattoos

“The size of sugar skulls has an important meaning. Small skulls represent the souls of dead babies and children; large skulls represent deceased adults. If you have only one sugar skull tattoo, pick any size you wish. However, if you plan to have multiple skull tattoos, their size must reflect the relative ages of each person commemorated.”

Also found another interesting link:

http://www.celebrate-day-of-the-dead.com/sugar-skulls.html


I couldn’t find any answers into what some of the symbols on the sugar skulls meant, apart from that marigolds represent life, webs represent death and writing on the forehead is the name of the deceased.  I guess the added symbols represent the deceased life, and as I am definitely not deceased, I’ve decided I’ll design a sugar skull based on the 19 years I have lived.

Meanings

By studying Fashion Design, I have to choose concepts for projects and look into the background behind them. I’ve actually started doing this for everyday research that I do. Like, I have been looking at sugar skulls, for both Halloween ideas and illustration. I realise that I can’t just allow myself to draw an ordinary sugar skull, but I have to find the meaning behind each symbol, with every skull being different.

 

Here goes. Updates to follow…